AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS21st Century’s Biggest Country Ticket Seller Gets “Groundbreaker Award”
for Innovation, Excellence and Expanding The Genre,
Presented by Vince VaughnAiring Live, Monday, December 15, on FOX
Kenny Chesney, the only country artist in Billboard’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Last 25 Years, will perform on the inaugural AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS airing live from Nashville’s Music City Center on Monday, December 15 (8:00 – 10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. Chesney, deemed “the People’s Superstar” by The Los Angeles Times, will perform his latest single, “Til It’s Gone,” before receiving the Groundbreaker Award for innovation, excellence and expanding the country music genre. The award will be presented by actor/producer/writer Vince Vaughn.
“They told me this award recognizes taking country new places and to a lot of new people,” Chesney said. “The truth is: all I did was sing songs I’d lived – and I knew people like me had lived. Show people their lives as a desirable thing, right where they are, and do a show that says, ‘We’re all here to have the best night of the summer,’ and they’re going to respond. So when I was trying to figure out what to sing, ‘Til It’s Gone’ felt right. It’s a song about being committed to the people you love, no matter what – and that’s how I feel about every single member of the No Shoes Nation.”
“Til It’s Gone” hit Billboard’s Top 5 this week. It follows “American Kids,” his Grammy Award-nominated, two-week No. 1 from “The Big Revival,” up the charts. “The Big Revival” is Chesney’s 13th Billboard Country Album Chart No. 1 debut.
“Connecting with the fans is what drives me,” Chesney explains. “Whatever we give them, they give us back double. That inspires everything we do. When I was cutting ‘Til It’s Gone,’ even though it’s a love song between two people, I always heard it as a song to the No Shoes Nation: ‘One life, one chance, one ticket to the big dance/ You and me, hanging on, right down to the last song…’ What other song would I do for an award that’s as much the fans’ as it is for me and the guys?”
The AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS “Groundbreaker Award” is given to an artist who has consistently pushed the boundaries of what is possible within the definitions of today’s country music. It recognizes trailblazing in the realm of concerts, musical accomplishment, creative innovation and connecting with fans across the United States. The award will be presented by actor/producer/writer Vince Vaughn.
Kenny Chesney has sold over a million tickets to each of his 11 headlining tours since 2002. An eight-time Entertainer of the Year, with four consecutive Academy of Country Music and four Country Music Association Awards, the man The Wall Street Journal crowned “The King of the Road” has also won the American Music Award’s Favorite Artist, the ACM’s Top Male Vocalist and Single of the Year (“The Good Stuff”) and the CMA’s Album of the Year (the sextuple-platinum “When The Sun Goes Down”), Video and Vocal Event Awards. With over 30 million albums sold – 7 debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums and 13 topping Billboard’s Country Album chart, his “The Big Revival” has spawned the multiple week No. 1 “American Kids,” certified Platinum, and the Top 5 and climbing “Til It’s Gone.”
AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS is based on country music’s longest-running radio countdown show, “American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks,” and will honor country outstanding artists based on album sales and radio airplay. In addition to Chesney, country music stars Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, along with multi-platinum superstar Kelly Clarkson, are set to perform. Also, multimedia entertainer Reba will receive the first-ever NASH Icon Award, presented by Kix Brooks, which celebrates an iconic artist whose extraordinary talent has influenced generations of musicians and who has made a profound and lasting impact on country music. Kelly Clarkson and Miranda Lambert will join together to honor Reba with a special tribute performance.
AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS finalists and winners, other than Breakthrough Artist of the Year, are determined based on statistics and radio airplay charts from Nov. 1, 2013-Oct. 31, 2014. The finalists for Album of the Year were based on album sales from SoundScan and the finalists for Artist of the Year were based on a combination of Mediabase airplay, digital data provided by Big Champagne and tour information from Pollstar. All other award categories were made up of those with the largest audience reach, according to Mediabase.
The AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro (CEO, dick clark productions), Mike Mahan (President, dick clark productions), Mark Bracco (Executive Vice President, Programing and Development, dick clark productions), John Dickey (Executive Vice President of Content and Programming, Cumulus), Richard Godfrey (“MTV Europe Music Awards”) and Tom Forrest (“CMT Crossroads”) are executive producers. Baz Halpin is co-executive producer.
About dick clark productions
dick clark productions (dcp) is among the world’s largest producers and proprietors of televised live event programming. dcp produces perennial hits such as the “American Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards” and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.” Weekly television programming includes SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, from 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group, and dick clark productions; as well as “Rising Star” and FOX’s upcoming game show, BOOM!, from Keshet DCP, the joint venture between Keshet International (KI), the global distribution and production arm of Keshet Media Group, and DC Media, the parent company of dick clark productions (dcp). In 2014, dcp will debut the AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS (FOX), “Hollywood Film Awards” (CBS) and “The People Magazine Awards” (NBC). dcp also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with more than 55 years of dcp’s award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.
About Cumulus
Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) combines high-quality local programming with iconic, nationally syndicated media, sports and entertainment brands in order to deliver premium choices for listeners, provide substantial reach for advertisers and create opportunities for shareholders. Cumulus provides exclusive content that is fully distributed through approximately 460 owned-and-operated stations in 90 U.S. media markets (including eight of the top 10), more than 10,000 broadcast radio affiliates and numerous digital channels Cumulus is well positioned in the widening digital audio space through a significant stake in the Rdio digital music service, featuring 30 million songs on-demand in addition to custom playlists and exclusive curated channels. Cumulus is also the leading provider of Country music and lifestyle content through its NASH brand. Nash serves over 90,000,000 Country fans through market leading broadcast radio short and long-form programming, NASH / Country Weekly magazine, Nash Live Events, Nash TV and soon to be announced Nash licensed apparel and home goods. For more information, visit www.cumulus.com.
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